The Rest
by avian-american-supporter
Summary: Max receives a phone call from Fang claiming that Maya has gone missing. But when the Flock is captured and taken back to the School, Max is forced to uncover the truth of Maya's disappearance. Don't want to spoil the plot; Hint: CLONES. T b/c I'm nervous
1. Chapter 1

Full Summary: The flock is on its own again, searching the world to destroy Itex. All is going smoothly until Max receives a phone call from Fang, claiming that Maya has gone missing. At first, Max doesn't think she should care, until she's stopped in her tracks and soon discovers the truth of Maya's disappearance.

**This is my second fanfiction, and I am planning it out to be 13 chapters more or less. It takes place after **_**Angel**_**, so of course, there are a lot of spoilers if you haven't read the original by Mr. James Patterson. DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF **_**ANGEL**_** OR THE CHARACTERS! I hope you like it! PLEASE REVIEW! You have no idea what it means to me!**

I watched Fang's dark silhouette against the sky as he flew off into the distance, deciding that Paris would be the last place we would meet for a long time.

Dylan came and stood beside me, watching as a colorful sunset fell upon the ruined city that was once Paris, the city of lights, but was now a heap of rubble and guilt. Because it was guilt that paraded heavily through my head and around my aching heart. Because it was guilt that marched through my hollow soul, declaring victory because I had surrendered a long time ago.

And it was the guilt of letting them stay down there in what was practically death itself that ate me alive.

A mistake that I would never forgive myself for making.

Because I had lost my baby.

"What do we do now, Max?" I turned around to see Nudge – a brave soldier that suddenly looked so much younger than I remembered.

I forced the gears in my brain to start turning and tried to give her a convincing smile. "We've got to keep searching for Itex plants. But we'll need to stop somewhere to find a computer…"

"But aren't they, like, everywhere?" The Gasman rubbed his eyes with his fists, trying to keep his voice steady. "What difference would it make whether we found a place over the computer or if we just flew somewhere and looked?"

"Well, I guess," I said. I had to agree with him. Finding a computer wouldn't speed things up anyway.

Nudge gasped suddenly. "Oh! Ohohohohooohooh! Can we go to California? Pleeeeeeaase Max? I've _always _wanted to go to California! _Pleeeaase_ Max?"

Because I had nothing against California, I decided, _Hey, why not?_ "California it is!" I exclaimed, and everyone cheered.

To fly from Paris to California would take approximately ten hours, give or take. Ten hours straight for a nine year old is a really long time to fly. So at about two am of the next day, I led us all down to a nearby empty beach to eat something and rest. Iggy emptied the contents of our backpack on the sand as I left to gather firewood, hearing the other kids calling dibs on everything in the distance. When I returned, Nudge was sitting hugging her knees and munching hungrily on a granola bar; Gazzy was gnawing at an apple; Iggy ingested a Rice Krispies treat; Dylan ate a box of crackers; and I myself chewed on a PB&J sandwich.

Once we had all finished, I sighed heavily and said, "You guys should rest. I'll take first watch." No one argued and they all lay down on the spot and started snoozing. I was struggling to build the fire, and soon Dylan was there, igniting the wood. "Thanks," I mumbled, hoping he didn't hear me, but knew that I'd said something. I felt his eyes on me and shifted uncomfortably, happy that it made him look away. I lay down on my back and looked up at the sky. It was so big, and so… so empty. In most places the Flock and had visited, the sky was usually cluttered with stars. But here, at two am, it was much the opposite. I tried to count the little stars visible and began to wonder if somewhere, Fang was doing the same thing, looking up at the same sky, maybe even the same stars.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you." Dylan's voice is barely audible. My fingers start twiddling unconsciously. "You always get that look in your eye when you're thinking about him." I smiled lightly.

"How do you know that this isn't just my regular face, and the face you usually see is the face I wear when I'm thinking of Fang?" I questioned.

"I guess I don't know that," he said.

I assumed he didn't need me to answer to that. I thought about all the times the Flock had had on beaches. The first time, when Ari showed up and hurt Fang so badly. The second time, when I was so annoyed with the voice that I tried to remove the chip myself. I didn't want to think about those times, but feeling the sand on my bare feet and in my hair and between my fingers always brought those memories back.

"You should get some rest," Dylan said.

I nodded and turned on my side, sliding into a dreamless sleep.

"Max, Max wake up!" When I opened my eyes, Nudge was kneeling in my face, shaking me awake. "Let's go, Max!"

"Um, may I ask where it is we're supposed to go?" Iggy pointed out.

"To find Itex, remember?" Gazzy said.

"Yeah," I said, trying to make my brain work again. "But first, we should go around town, you know, restock on—" I had more to say, but couldn't muster the words.

Because in that moment, I froze, listening to the dull vibration that rang out clearer than the crashing waves.

My pocket vibrated.

**I will update soon, I hope, whether there are any reviews or not. Review will be the only thing keeping me going, guys, so if there are no reviews, I will be : ( Most people don't enjoy being : (**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, first off, I have some things to say. This chapter nearly took me two weeks, not because I had no time, not because it was hard, but because 1. Blackout=no wi-fi, and 2. I'm lazy. SO. I will make an attempt to release chapters more like twice a week rather than my current anarchy schedule. Today is the last day before school starts, and I have 5 or 6 pictures to draw and a fanfiction to write. I also apologize that some of this chapter may accidentally be written in present tense instead of past tense, because I am used to writing in present… oops. Sorry if this chapter ever gets confusing… :3**

My hand automatically flew to my pocket and fumbled with my phone that was uncontrollably vibrating. I flicked it open and pressed it to my ear, trying to remain calm and collected. I knew who I wanted it to be. "H-hello?" I said into the phone.

"Max?" Fang's voice was urgent.

"Uh-huh," I said numbly.

"We've, uh, reached a problem."

_A problem? _"What do you mean," I said sternly.

"Well, Maya's gone."

Silence.

"Gone?" I asked doubtfully, even though I knew Fang wouldn't lie to me about something like this. "Tell me what happened."

"We had stopped, you know, to rest. She was keeping watch, but when we woke up, she was gone."

Maya was gone.

I didn't know what to think. I should be upset – a member of his flock was missing – but I almost felt happy – I always hated Maya to begin with, and now that she was gone…

"What should we do?" Fang interrupted my thoughts.

"Max? What's he saying?" Nudge asked.

"Maya's gone," I mouthed to my flock as their eyes all went wide. After a moment's thought, I decided to say, "I think we all know what happened. She was probably kidnapped and taken back to the School."

Those words always brought back the memory that all of us mutants shared something in common: our fear of the School.

"Oh, no," Fang muttered. Because now that Maya was there, it meant that not only was she trapped in that prison, but we would also have to return there.

"See you there." I ended the conversation with that, snapping my phone shut and shoving it into the unknown depths of my pocket. I unfurled my wings and saw the rest of my flock do the same. I wondered where this little trip would take us. "Let's go, gang," I said, and we all took running leaps into the air, where gravity didn't exist and neither did our fears and worries.

"Max? I'm hungry," Nudge whined. We had been flying for almost four hours, and I couldn't blame her for speaking up. We pit-stopped on top of a building a city away from our destination. Once again, Iggy dumped out the contents of our backpack and we all munched away. _I wonder where Fang would be… How will we find his group?_ I struggled to keep these questions in the back of my head – right now I just wanted to enjoy eating something, since it had become a rare pleasure.

After our last meal for who-knows-how-long, we circled the sky, looking for any sign of Fang's gang. I was circling a small area including a rundown diner, a church, a market, and a parking lot, when the Voice suddenly got an urge to suggest some advice. **The lot. They're waiting there.** Left to assume that when the Voice says "They" it means "Fang and Friends," I summoned the others and we swooped down to the lot. Scanning the area, I found that the Voice was right – there they were, standing around a red van. It was clear they had been waiting for us. It felt strange to only see five of them. But then again, it must seem strange for them to only see five of us, since Angel was no longer here.

"What's the plan?" Dylan said, breaking the awkward silence between the two flocks.

"It isn't really for you to decide," Fang said bitterly as Dylan cast him an angry look.

"Okay, guys," I said, not wanting another argument between the two. "I think our objective is really to sneak over there and somehow get Maya out."

"Hence the term _'somehow_,'" Star muttered and Kate giggled.

"What if we split up, you know, based on our powers," Ratchet began, "and then found a way to bust her out."

"How would we split?" Iggy asked.

"Well, let's think. We'll need a few people to go over there ahead of the rest of us to, one, make the entry easier for the rest of us, two, to maybe get a few whitecoats out of the way, and three, to take inventory of where Maya might be.

"Then, we'll need the rest of us to split up – group one will be the main fighters, and then group two will be back up in case something goes wrong. Is that clear with everyone?"

"So, how will we split up?" Kate said.

"Um, well, in the first group, we'll have Fang with invisibility, Ratchet with super-senses, and Dylan for back up with you guys. Then in the main fighting force, we'll have Star, Kate, and me. Fang, Dylan and Ratchet can also help fight when the time comes. On back up we'll have Nudge, Gaz and Holden. Is that good?" Everyone nodded.

We were getting prepared when I walked over to Fang. "When I get there, I'll send out a whistle as a signal. When you hear it, whistle back to me twice. Okay?" He nodded.

Getting the first three over there was a little tough. Fang and Dylan both had to carry Ratchet all the way over there – which wasn't too far, but it would be a struggle to remain unnoticed. Ten minutes later, I headed out with Star and Kate. I had to carry Kate, but Star would run on the ground below me. During the flight, I couldn't help but wonder if the guys were okay. Hopefully, we would land and see them there.

Unfortunately, things don't always seem to go as planned for us mutants. When we landed a good distance away from the school, I sent out the whistle, telling Fang's group that we had arrived. I told the girls to stand still and listen. My call wasn't returned. I waited longer. Still no whistle. "That's strange," I muttered, starting to get worried. With both Dylan and Ratchet, there's no way that they couldn't have heard the whistle. Was it us? Was my hearing just not strong enough to hear their returning whistles?

"Uh, _Max—"_ Kate began, but she was cut off by a rustling noise behind us.

A strong, muscular arm suddenly came out of nowhere and gripped me tightly around my neck. I tried to claw at it with my hands, only to feel a strange, rough texture under my fingertips. I looked to Star and Kate to see them in a similar situation. That was the first time a got a good look at our captors.

They were big; maybe a foot taller than an Eraser. But instead of being a human-wolf hybrid, they were human-_shark_ hybrids, with the heads of sharks and the bodies of men. They had scaled skin, sharp teeth, and small fins on their knees, elbows, and backs. They were absolutely terrifying.

The next thing I knew, a bag was shoved over me, enveloping me in fear. They hadn't heard my whistle. They had been caught. And now we were captured too. And, worst of all, Nudge, Gazzy, and Holden were on their way right now, with no clue of what awaited them.

We were going back to the School.

**Sorry my chapters are always so short… Making them longer includes less dramatic chapter endings, and I love those! Sometimes, I'll write a story just for the ending! Thank yous to **_**20 toes, the12thcookie, uber-monster, **_**and**_** maximumFANGirl!**_

** OR EEELLLLLLLLLSSE!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello world! It's avian-american-supporter, and this is my storay. This chapter also took me a long time to write, so sorry. No, it wasn't really 'hard' it just took a long time because I wanted to listen to Eminem, but it's hard to write while listening to rap. However, it is shockingly easy to write while listening to, say, 'Bella's Lulaby' from the Twilight soundtrack (no, I'm not a fan [yet] should I read it? I'm debating against myself in my mind. Of all people, you guys would know!) Also, this song by Vocaloid isn't bad – called Deep Sea Girl. It's pretty and sad. Unfortunately, the next few chapters will actually be 'hard,' so don't be surprised if it takes, like, two and a half weeks or something. :3 Sorry, I like to talk, even though I'm not even talking right now. Sorry, I also can't make my chapters any longer but nothing will stop me from TRYING!**

I couldn't see anything. Not even my knee that was uncomfortably shoved into my forehead. I would probably get a bruise there. Pleasant.

I wasn't sure, but I thought we were in one of those big, clumsy vans the Erasers used to drive everywhere in. Once in a while I would hear Star moan or Kate whimper. I wondered if their knees were in their foreheads too.

After about ten minutes, I heard one mutant say to the other, "We drop 'em here?" and the other said, "Yeah, with the others."

_The others!_ I thought. _It must be them!_

Then my sack was dropped on a gravel road. The impact jarred my knee into my forehead yet again, making a bigger bruise. How did I know it was gravel? Ask my butt. I heard two muffled thuds somewhere to my left and knew Star and Kate must be as uncomfortable as I was.

Next I was picked up again and thrown over a shoulder, feeling the rhythm of a mutant's steps. His boots scraping the grit beneath us was the only thing I tried to concentrate on; that and an escape plan. _I wonder what this thing is tied with, _I thought, wondering if I could rip through it. _Come to think of it, what is this sack made of anyway?_

I didn't have time to think up an answer, because the next thing I knew, I was dumped out of the sack into a hard, metal cage.

"Max?" It was Dylan. I sat up as a mutant slammed the cage shut and locked it. I looked around, trying to find him, and finally found his figure in a cage with four others stacked up on it. He was about four yards away from my cage.

"Dylan? What happened to you guys?"

"We thought we were camouflaged enough, but then one of those mutant things snuck up on us and grabbed us," Ratchet said.

"How did they sneak up on _you?_" I asked in disbelief.

"Well, it turned out they figured we were coming, so they secured all entrances and stuff. They caught us when we were trying to sneak in to find Maya," Ratchet explained.

"What do we do now?" Star complained from the cage on top of me.

"Yeah; and the others are on their way, too," Kate added.

"Hmm," I muttered, biting my nails. "Well, if you think about it, the plan isn't different than this. I mean, originally, we were going to sneak inside and look for Maya, right? Well, now, we're inside, and we'll probably find her in another cage somewhere, right?"

"I guess," Dylan said, trying to encourage my optimism.

"We all know that won't happen, Max." Fang spoke for the first time since I had seen him last. "We can't even escape ourselves now – how are we supposed to find Maya and escape with her as well as all of us?"

A moment after he said this, the mutants came back, sacks in hand. Cages were opened and slammed shut again as Nudge, the Gasman and Holden were shoved cruelly into their own cages. The mutants piled them one on top of the other and left the room, grunting and making odd noises. "Ow," Nudge moaned from the base of the stack.

"You guys okay?" I asked, concerned.

"You could say that," Gazzy answered and I winced, imagining just how un-okay he probably was.

"Did anyone see Maya?" Holden asked, wanting to get to the point.

"No," Kate said hopelessly.

"We'll probably be able to spot her within the next few days during test—" Dylan started, but he was cut off by the slam of a big, heavy door. All heads swiveled to our visitors – all unpleasant.

"Maximum Ride," Jeb said as he fixed his glasses atop his nose. "Come with us." Two shark mutants stepped out from behind him, smirks and grins on their ugly, mutant faces. They unlocked my cage and pulled me out by the arm. "Don't touch—" I started, but then, a figure leapt up out of the air from some unseen location screaming "Heeyyyaaaaaaaaa!" and plowed right into the mutants holding my arm, who instantly released their grip in surprise.

And who was the attacker that just ran over my captors?

Why, it was none other than Maya.

"Maya!" Everyone cried in unison.

She smirked, then turned to me and hastily said, "Quick, Max, this way! They're calling back up!" I looked over at Jeb and saw how he was frantically calling in more mutants and scientists. Maya grabbed my wrist and led me through hallway after hallway, going deeper and deeper into the School.

"Where are we going?" I shouted to her.

"A little place I know," I she shouted back.

Suddenly, she stopped in front of a white door. I peered over her shoulder as she fingered the knob.

And then she twisted it.

**Ooooooooohhhhh…. Dramatic. Tell me what you think! Because if you don't review, I will be : (**

**I'm going to cry today because it's 9/11 and I am sad.**


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone, I know that last time I updated was about two weeks ago… I started working on this chapter last week, so now I'm trying to write as much as I can of it every day. I hope to put things up more. This chapter was challenging – lots of describing and stuff. Happy reading!

You would think that when Maya opened the door, something really climactic would happen. Sorry to disappoint you. What was _really_ inside the door was nothing. Nothing but… blackness, that is.

Maya ushered me into the dark room, pulling my wrist as I tripped over my feet.

If years of running for my life had taught me one thing, it was that when you are trying to run away from somewhere that has a "bad reputation" and then you get caught inside it, it isn't good when you are pulled into a room where you can't see by someone that also has a "bad reputation." So I was silently freaking out that any number of those freaky mutant-shark things could be lining the walls this very minute. I decided to believe that I could trust Maya, after all, I shouldn't be so hard on her – she was here for a while, suffering from test after test after test. Her life hadn't been pie either.

She pulled me along a little longer, and then stopped abruptly. I felt her muscles tense, and I wondered why. Suddenly, the lights flickered until they stayed on. I scanned the room, looking for any sign that imminent death was answering a door I didn't know I knocked on. Instead, I found something almost worse, or maybe there was really no difference between them.

It was a Jeb.

He was looking at me over the top of his glasses, observing what I would do next. I sneered at him, giving him something to observe: _Jeb = annoyed Max._

But then, Jeb looked over at a door I hadn't seen before, and motioned with his hand – a "come in" gesture. I readied myself for something bloodthirsty to walk in, but instead, it a…

…girl.

It was a girl that Jeb had summoned. She didn't look too happy though. She walked in, immediately seeing me, and I got the feeling that she had expected me. Somehow, Maya's muscles became even _tenser_ than before. _What did she know…?_

The girl wore converse, boot-cut jeans, and a spaghetti strap shirt. She wore a leather jacket that fit over her shoulders in a crooked sort of way – hanging over one shoulder on one side and tight to the neck on the other. Her whole outfit was torn, ripped, and bloodstained. But it wasn't her clothes that surprised me.

It was the fact that framed by wavy, bedraggled blond hair, was my face.

It all hit me just then – the girl, why Maya was acting so strange, why they took her.

They had taken Maya, instead of me, to the school. My guess was that Maya had hardly ever had to worry about being kidnapped in the middle of the night, like I had been once before. She hadn't been the leader – Fang was – and she never had to think about being stolen back to the school. So, they cloned _her,_ hoping that since she was a copy of my DNA, that her clones would be the equivalent of what would happen if _I_ was cloned. They were probably still trying to make their "perfect Max."

But this girl didn't look like a normal person. Her breaths were deep and heavy, her fists clenched so tightly, I wondered if her fingernails would puncture holes in her palm. Once in a while, her eye would twitch. I wondered what they did to her, because she basically looked as if she was one banana peel away from the edge of sanity.

With one final eye-twitch at me, the new Max walked over to the left.

Maya gulped next to me, and I noticed another girl come in. This one was nothing like the other – she wore fitted jeans tucked inside high-heeled – and I mean _high-heeled_ – leather boots and a rainbow camisole. Necklaces draped down elegantly over her neck, and her wrists were decorated colorfully in an assortment of bracelets. She stuck a pose, then held her left hand up so I could see the back of her hand. I knew I saw what she wanted me to see when I saw it. Because there, on her left hand ring finger, was my ring.

I looked down at my own hand to see the exact same ring on my own hand. _How could this sissy have gotten Fang's ring?_ I thought. Then the flashy Max strutted down next to the mental-problem Max and put her hands on her hips.

_You see, Max,_ the Voice said, _you are right. These Maxes are all clones of Maya's DNA, which is the same as yours. But cloning your clone turned out to have an odd effect… _

What? _What do you mean, Voice. What happened to them?_

_Each clone is a different part of Maya's emotions. The first one, she's Anger. The second one there is Love. _

Ooooohhh. So that means that Maya was pretty much split up into two different people. Wait — Love? That doesn't make sense, who would Maya be in love with?

Oh. Right.

Why else would that Love chick have Fang's ring?

Jeb nodded as a third stepped out of the doorway.

This one was wearing a school uniform, her hair tucked neatly in a ponytail. She stood up strait and walked with her hands at her sides. When she stopped to face me, I felt like I was staring at a rock with a face – sort of like Fang in a way, except she never smiled at me, or anything. She could have stared at me blankly for eons. I even almost wanted to turn away, but told myself not to chicken like that. Eventually she turned a ninety-degree angle and stood next to flirtatious Love.

_Knowledge,_ the Voice said. _Built to have no emotion and to only make brain decisions. _Oh. I guess that was the real problem with me, so they made a new Max with no heart. _She's Max version five. Love is version four, Anger three, Maya is two, and you are one, the first Max._

Yeah. I get to be the first Max. I wonder how many girls grow up dreaming of being "the first Max."

Another Max walked in, quite different from the previous. This one was slouched, clothes simple (and orange, which is a gross color), hair sticking up, and staring at me with her mouth wide open, with an "OMG" face.

_Max version six – stupidity, _the Voice said.

Knowledge must not have worked out for them. Maybe she had enough sense to know that being injected with chemicals was not good. But creating a Max that was meant to be stupid seemed sort of, well, stupid.

When Jeb motioned for her to go to the side, I don't even think she saw him. She just stared at me until Jeb had to shove her next to the others.

The next Max to walk into the room was staring off into space. She didn't seem to notice me until Jeb coughed at her. She stopped suddenly, startled, and stared at me with sad eyes. One, single tear slipped out of her eye and snaked down her cheek when her eyes met mine. Her eyes were empty, blank, as if she had never seen the sunshine before, ever. I believed it, too. She quickly dried her face, smothering the tear. I wondered what it had held inside it. She stood next to Max.6 and stared off into space at a white wall.

The next Max was quite different. All smiles, I figured Max.8 was the "happiness" Max. She wore a halter-top exposing her belly button, and a pretty jean skirt. She had lots of necklaces and she wore no shoes. She had open eyes (which automatically reminded me of Dylan), a big smile, and she was really pretty. _I can't believe I'm seeing _me,_ practically, looking so happy. _All in all, she certainly didn't look like a mutant, a lab experiment, or a clone. She looked like a normal teenage girl; one that had a boyfriend, and a lot of friends, and liked to walk to town to get pizza all the time. Seeing her sent a wave of shock through me – how someone that looked so much like me could even do such a thing as to look normal.

All the new Maxes were lined up in a line – Max.3, Max.4, Max.5, Max.6, Max.7, and Max.8, each with their complex personality issues.

I looked to Max 3, the one with anger problems, and saw that she was literally on the verge of wanting to punch a whole in something. Then, all of a sudden, she yelled out a battle cry, and all seven mes came charging toward me, each with different levels of enthusiasm. Looking to my left, I saw Maya, my face requesting help. But instead of a face that said, "I have to help Max," I saw a face that said something a little more like:

"This is the part where you run."

This chapter was sort of endless – I'm bad at speeding it up through all the character introductions. SORRY. When it says "mes" it means "me" just plural. Like, multiple mes. I would do "me's" but that isn't grammatically correct. I really want to know what everyone thinks about the Maya situation, so REVIEW PLEASE. Also… I want to know what song is stuck in your head right now. If there isn't a song stuck in your head, just tell me a song you like.

**~avian-american-supporter OUT.**

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	5. Chapter 5

Whew! It's been approximately 2 1/2 months since my last update, and I feel absolutely terrible that I have not posted anything in such a long time. :::((((( During that time, I did many things, some of which include: 1) Reading the entire Twilight Saga, and then going back and rereading the first one. 2) Losing the outline I had planned to use for the fight scene in the following chapter, which I then could still not find even after cleaning out my entire desk, which took about a day. 3) Began to confuse the character of Fang with the character of Edward, from Twilight, which was not a good thing. 4) Skimmed over the Maximum Ride series just to get a feel for what it was like. Hey, did you know that, while Maximum Ride somehow smells horrible, Twilight is, like, the best-smelling book ever? Cool stuff, man, cool stuff. Enjoy!

My first instinct was to run, but I decided that Max doesn't do that. So, I gave Maya my best "You're on" face as she swung a punch that sailed over my head, due to my fast reflexes telling me to duck. Unfortunately, I hadn't noticed Max.3, Anger, behind me, and as I spun around to strike a blow, she hit me first in the gut, knocking the breath out of me. Even though it was hard to suck in oxygen for a few moments, I tried to run as fast as I could regardless. Once I had regained normal physical ability, I turned around real quick to face Anger, and punched her real hard in the face. She staggered, and I felt triumphant, until I heard a loud voice, my voice, shrieking, "FANG IS MIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNEEE, YOU SISSY!"

Just as my brain registered a thought: _what?_ Max.4 was flying at me, aiming a kick at my face. I ducked under her as she flung over my head. She landed stealthily on the floor, and pounced, once again, at my face, arms reaching in front of her head, ready to claw my eyes out, probably "for Fang." I grabbed her wrists as she jumped up at me, pulling her to the ground again on the other side of me. Her landing wasn't as graceful as her last.

The next thing that happened was a surprise. Dancing toward me was Max.8, the happy one. She hopped to a stop in front of me, beaming at me as she stretched her arms out wide for a hug; a suicidal attempt if you ask me. I didn't bother giving her my best "you're kidding" face before I punched her in the stomach and, while she was bent over trying to catch her breath, forced her face into my knee twice.

Suddenly a burst of pain flamed in my knee. I looked up to see Max.5, the one that was supposed to be the brainiac, staring blankly at me. I'm sure she would have been able to pummel me quite nicely if it wasn't for Max.6, who came sprinting toward us full-speed screaming, "Don't worry, Max.4, I'll save you!" _Max.4?_ I thought, doing a quick scan around me, seeing that it was really just .5 and me. _Oh,__yeah,__she__'__s__the__stupid__one,_ I clarified for myself, remembering now.

Max.6 practically flew (well, not _really_) into .5, who gave a startled yelp as they fell to the ground. .6 scrambled to her feet and then hugged me tightly, releasing me after a good squeeze. She stepped back then, as if admiring her work. I abruptly kicked her in the face.

Out of my peripheral vision, I could see something fast coming toward me. Max.3, Anger, was whizzing toward me, ready to pound me into dust happily. Fortunately, before this sadistic event could take place, an earsplitting wail of sadness came from the corner of the room, where Max.7, Sadness, sat, her shoulders lightly shaking, tears pouring down her face for some unknown reason. It was sort of hard to believe that these freakish people were all parts of _my_clone.

I used this odd distraction as a way to find a gap in Anger's defenses. Victoriously, I was able to roundhouse kick her before she could process the fact that I had begun to move.

Because the world just doesn't want to cut me _any_ slack today, Max.8 tried to run toward me again, probably so she could try hugging me again, when .4, Love, thrust her hand out in front of .8 to stop her. "No," I heard her say. "She's mine."

I stuck my tongue out at her, and then Lovey-Dovey sprinted at me full force, leaping into the air like a ninja. She was ready to make a sneaker imprint on my face – figuring that I won't be very attractive after that and Fang will be all hers – when I duck swiftly underneath her.

Unfortunately, something hard and boney kicked my ankles out from under me and I fell down on my back. It was hard to process everything, but Max.5, Knowledge, was suddenly on top of my stomach, feet on either side of me, reeling back her fist to punch me. Lightning-quick, I snapped my left hand out and caught her fist just as it began to fly toward my face. I threw my other fist at her own face, which made a direct hit and sent her, stunned, into a small daze. I took advantage of her momentary confusion instantly and I lifted her from my body and onto the ground as I scrambled up onto my feet.

Sudden force on my back made me stumble forward. Surprised, I regained balance and tried to figure out what was clinging to my back. I didn't have to dig long, though, because soon I heard my voice shouting, "I'll teach you for kissing _my_man!" I almost wanted to roll my eyes, but knew that would not help me. Max.4 started clawing at my hair, trying to mess it up even more than it already was. "You won't look so attractive once I'm done with you!" Max.4 shouted.

Through the hair that was now in my face, I was able to see Max.6, Stupidity, running around to every clone she saw and randomly kicking her. I used this to my advantage and started to make my way toward 6, who was just kicking Max.7, Sadness, who then launched into a new round of tears. I stopped a couple feet from 6, and then I dropped to my back, where 4 was. She let out a startled yelp when I was suddenly on top of her. Max.6 saw us and started toward us to kick someone. Max.4, who was struggling to get out from underneath me, loosened her grip on me once we hit the ground. I was able to untangle myself from her and stand up before 6 could kick me. Instead, she triumphantly kicked Love in the head, who then seemed to blank out.

I scanned myself, doing 360-degree circles, searching for a new opponent. I didn't see another clone until I spotted the open doorway that the clones came in through in the first place. In the doorway stood someone new that I hadn't seen before.

She wore dark jeans, white, new sneakers, and a white blouse. Her blond hair was brushed and sitting over her left shoulder. A green barrette held the shiny hair out of her blank, flawless face.

My face.

_Who__'__s__this?_ I wondered, forgetting everything but this new Max before me. I was half expecting the Voice to jump in and tell me, but it made no appearance. Maybe it didn't want me to know. Maybe I shouldn't know. Maybe I would be better off not knowing who this perfect, new replica of me was. Maybe I didn't want to know of this Max that seemed to surpass me in every visible way.

Suddenly, two hands gripped my ankle. Looking down, I saw Max.7 clutching my jeans, staring into my eyes with a look of desperation crossing her face. A desperate, helpless look that I had never seen on my face before, ever. I didn't think I was capable of it.

"Kill me," she whispered, tears cascading down her pale cheeks. "Kill me, please." Her grip tightened around me, making sure I could not run. She glanced down before repeating, "Kill me" more forcefully this time.

Something in her eyes made me forget she was an enemy. She was suddenly a friend, a best friend, a friend I didn't want to be hurting. Abruptly, I told myself to toughen up again and I shook her off of me while she tried to cling onto me shouting, "What's wrong with me, what's wrong with me? What's wrong with me!"

I tried to get away from her before she could influence me any further. And it hit me then: the thing I should have been thinking about this whole time, but was too caught up in everything to think clearly.

_Where was Maya?_

Whether she would be attacking the clones or attacking me, I wasn't sure, but she wasn't here, in this room. Did she escape, through the door? Did she call in that other Max clone? I glanced once again to the doorway, only to see that the newest Max wasn't there.

I searched around the room frantically for my possibly only ally here. But I couldn't find her. Maya wasn't here.

I still wasn't able to put all the pieces together by the time all six Maxes surrounded me, the desire to kill all prominent in their eyes.

BUGAHABUGAHABUGAHAHAHHAHAHA WOW THAT TOOK A LONG TIME. That was lame, right? I mean, that long for just 3 whimpy pages? NO! I mean, sure they're full of action and stuff, but it really shouldn't have taken that long. Oh, and by the way, if you happen to catch any typos from past/present tense, I am sorry. Please tell me if you catch any of those. I have been writing a lot of other stuff in present tense, and so I have to constantly go over each sentence over and over again because I keep writing "is" or "am" or "look" or "kick" or anything else. :( Oh, and tell me what you think about all the Maxes? Favorites? Least favorites? Anyone?

**Anyway, COMMENT, COMMENT, COMMEEEEENNTT!**

**~avian-american-supporter wants to cry now: best victory of the month goes to completing chapter 5! :D**


	6. Chapter 6

Maximum Ride does not belong to me, but Mr. James Patterson, the far more famous, wonderful, and talented author than myself. :)

… … …

Fang POV

_Where's Max?_ The question replays itself over and over in my mind, but I can't find an answer. She left a while ago, with Maya, but neither has returned. Were they attacked? Taken away? Killed? I gulp.

Around me, everyone else seems just as nervous. In her cage, Nudge continually glances anxiously at the door, waiting for it to open and Max to come back. Iggy is looking at the bottom of the cage he can't see, gulping every few minutes and asking if anything new has happened. Angel seems to be telepathically sending hopeful thoughts to Gaz. Kate and Star seem more concerned for Maya than for Max, and I understand that, but they keep glancing at each other and shaking their heads. Ratchet keeps looking at Kate and Star, and Angel periodically rolls her eyes in reference to his thoughts. Holden draws squiggles on the bottom of his cage with his finger, his eyes looking sad. All in all, everyone is fairly unease about all this.

"Fang," Nudge suddenly asks me, "what would we do if something happened to them?" Something tells me this isn't the first time this has popped up in all of our thoughts. Everyone looks at me, the leader of "Fang's gang" as well as the used-to-be leader of Max's flock. Well, besides Dylan, of course, who I've refused to look at this entire time.

"Nothing's going to happen. Max knows what she's doing," Dylan answers. My usually controlled temper immediately flares and I turn to face him. "No one asked you."

Before he can retort back, we hear a _bang!_ that seems to shake the whole building. "What was that?" Kate asks in her timid voice. She sounds scared.

"I don't know," I mutter in response, just before we hear a muffled voice yell, "Fang is _mine_, you sissy!"

Everyone glances at me as if to say, _Are they talking about you?_ Well, gee, I haven't come across any other Fangs lately, so I assume so. More banging follows, and a realization crosses over me. "We have to get out of here," I say, determination dripping from my voice. I spot a paperclip just outside my cage, and, conveniently, an idea pops into my head.

"Iggy, catch!" I say after reaching to grab it and then tossing it over to him. "Pick those locks!"

And soon, we were free, all of us stretching, more than glad to be free of our prisons. "What now?" Star questions whoever answers first.

"We find Max," Dylan says, trying to look heroic.

"And Maya," I add, glaring at Dylan.

"And… how do we do that?" Iggy questions.

"Uh," I try.

"I hear something!" Ratchet shouts. His face looks confused. "Okay, it sounded like Max just said, 'Don't worry, Max.4, I'll save you'?"

Everyone is confused by _that._ "Max_.4_?" Kate looks shocked.

"Hey, anything's possible," Star points out.

"Ratchet, lead us to Max," Dylan the leader-wannabe demands.

Ratchet turns and leads everyone down a few corridors. Angel is also trying to reach out to any signals with her mind. Soon, we come to a door, where we find a… peculiar sight.

In the middle of a white room, we find this mass of… Max. There must be seven of her, maybe eight? They're all fighting ferociously in the middle of the room, and it's impossible to tell who's opponent is who. A Max wearing skimpy clothing shoves a Max wearing a leather jacket. A Max with a magenta strip of hair, Maya, pummels a crying Max. One Max is beating herself up. One Max that wears a gigantic smile on her face is pulling another Max's hair, who wears a school uniform. Then, one Max, one covered in scratches and has everything a little out of place battles another Max, who wears a white blouse.

It's chaotic.

"Which one's Max?" Gazzy cries.

I don't know either. "Angel!" I yell, "what are you picking up?"

She looks flustered and confused, shaking her head. "I don't know, Fang. They all think they're the real Max. They must be clones or something. Like Maya, just… a lot more."

"This is bad," says Dylan, Captain Obvious.

"Max!" Nudge shouts. "Max, where are you?"

All Maxes's eyes flicker toward us.

"I'm right here," they all say.

"This is going to be a little harder than I thought," I mutter to myself. But I knew what this really meant. Just like in Virginia, there could only be one solution to this mess.

Only one Max would come out of here alive.

… … …

**Whew! Sorry, this one took a month! The fifth chapter was weird: it didn't get put up to the top because I replaced its content. It used to be "My excuse" but I wanted to replace it with the previous chapter so chapter 5 could be chapter 5 and chapter 6 could be chapter 6 instead of chapter 5 being an excuse and chapter 6 being chapter 5. So that's why you haven't seen me around lately. Hehe… This one is short, I know, so it really should have taken me a month at all… I'm sort of ashamed about that. But anyway, Tell me what you think: any predictions you might have, any opinions about the characters, anything you liked, anything you didn't like, or anything else at all. Yikes, today is Friday the 13th. Nothing bad happened to me: I actually put this out, finally. Oh, next chapter will be really FUNNNNNNNNNNNYYYY…. Muahahahahahahahahaha… yes. Very. **

**~avian-american-supporter hates stereotypes. :3**

**Oh, and also, sorry for any lacking of writing skills in this last bit. I just wanted it to get a move on, you know, instead of focusing on what I was doing. Yeah… probably shouldn't have said that.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Isn't it sort of obvious Maximum Ride doesn't belong to me? Like, seriously, I know these things are about copyright, but would you really go around thinking, "Oh, Maximum Ride is avian-american-supporter's idea!" **

… … …

**Max POV:**

"Max!" I hear Nudge shout from somewhere to my right. "Max, where are you?"

"Here!" I scream, along with the other seven Maxes. "Nudge!" I cry in frustration, but she doesn't hear me.

Someone yanks my hair, and I'm pulled to the ground. Max 5, Knowledge, stands above me, or, rather, she must be standing above me, but I can't quite see her – her fist is blocking my vision. I roll to the side at the last second, and her fist hits the tiled floor where I used to be.

I suddenly hear a high pitched squeal, and everyone turns to see Max 4, Love, running through everyone straight at Fang, who hasn't seemed to comprehend her maddening love for him yet. "FAAAAAAAANNNNNGGGG!" she yells as loud as she can, as if everyone _isn't _staring at her. He takes a stance to attack her, but she's launched herself in the air already, and they're on the ground before Fang can process anything.

I am still trying to figure out what I'm supposed to think of this when Max 8, Happiness, skips over to Ratchet and gives him a hug. Ratchet tries to shove her off, but the girl can hug like no one else can.

Max 7, Sadness, is suddenly clinging to Kate's leg, who is trying to comfort her by awkwardly rubbing her back, which only makes 7 sob more urgently. Her sudden wails make Kate flinch and cringe, and at the same time makes her gently shake her leg, trying to shoo her new companion away, to no avail.

"They're defective!" Angel yells. "They're all parts of a whole!"

"What does that mean?" Iggy complains.

"It means that Max was broken up into six different people, and each person is a different emotion of hers! Something went wrong when they were cloning her!"

"Where _is_ Max?" Gazzy cries.

"Where's Maya?" Fang shouts from underneath a swooning Max 4, who then demands, "WHO IS THIS _MAYA_ YOU SPEAK OF."

I quickly point to Max 5. "Her! She's Maya!"

Max 4 flits from Fang to Max 5, diving onto her as fists start to swing. "Let's get out of her!" I yell, panicked.

"Oh, no you don't," a voice growls. Four Erasers have come out to the open, and they seem just a little annoyed at us. They lick their lips and clench and unclench their clawed hands.

"Max 3!" I shout, calling the Angry Max. "That wolf guy stole your jacket!"

Though she should know she's clearly _wearing_ her jacket, she turns her venomous gaze on the four Erasers and says clearly. "You. Will. Give. Me. My. Jacket. Now."

One Eraser growls and snorts, "We don't have your jacket, girl."

"That's exactly what you would say if you did!" Max 3 immediately goes head-to-head with the four Erasers, tackling them all simultaneously to get back the jacket she's already wearing.

"Max!" Dylan shouts from within the ruckus. I try to follow his voice. "Dylan?"

"Max! Over here!"

When I see him, his turquoise eyes sparkle, lighting up as he sees me, immediately unsettling me but making my heart flutter nonetheless.

It would have been a really touching moment if everything hadn't gone black just then.

… … …

**Author's note:**

**GGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH. Man, that took longer than it should have taken to write. Actually, I wrote this all in a day, but it took so long to come out because I never got around to starting it. I feel good though, now that I've written a whole chapter in ONE. DAY. Even if it is sort of short… yeah. Hey, check out the12thcookie. She's an AMAZING author on this website that also writes for Max, but her stories are better. *heart* **


	8. Sorry!

This story will no longer be continued. Sorry!

~avian-american-supporter

P.S. However, if you like this idea and would like to use it, please send me a PM and we can talk about it – the only thing to be discussed is what you would like to call it so I can read it for myself!


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